10 things you can do instead of panicking about Mark Zuckerberg's changes to Facebook

I see and hear everybody panicking about the changes to News Feed that Mark Zuckerberg announced last week. I read it myself and sat very still for a few moments, wondering what it all means. Then I read that shares in Facebook plummeted and it started to sink in. Then I made myself a coffee and started digging further.

For everyone who has asked me what it means for them personally...I don't know. No one does. What I do know is that it makes no sense to panic. We've all been through major changes in this space before and come out the other side. You know...this could be a real positive. If you’ve got a great product or service and you are consistently putting up good, relatable content you should be fine. Maybe you’ll have to work a little harder but hard work pays off.

Meanwhile here are ten things you can do to keep you busy while you wait to see if/how these changes will affect you...

Firstly what is this all about?

On the 11th January, Mark Zuckerberg announced Facebook is about to make a major change to the newsfeed of all personal profiles.

Some important points to take from the announcement...

"The first changes you'll see will be in News Feed, where you can expect to see more from your friends, family and groups."

"As we roll this out, you'll see less public content like posts from businesses, brands, and media."

"And the public content you see more will be held to the same standard — it should encourage meaningful interactions between people."

Important: The changes won't affect ads but it is likely to affect businesses who don't advertise.

10 things you can do to keep ahead of these changes.

1. Create meaningful content and build real relationships with your followers. I'll write more about how you do that in my next newsletter (sign up here).

2. Take care not be spammy and keep an eye on how your content fits with the News Feed guidelines (read more here).

3. Pay attention to your insights - what content is working? What are your audience demos? When are they active? Work with your audience to find out what they want from you. If you don’t appeal to them, they won’t engage with your content. If they don’t engage with your content, they simply won’t see it.

4. Advertise. Sorry, but this was inevitable. Sit down and work out a budget, what your return on investment needs to be and what you think you should be advertising (and more). Don’t blindly boost posts, you need to be strategic and considered or you will just be throwing money into the bin.

5. Stop winging it - start thinking about what you can offer in this space that your customers want to know. Understanding your target audience is the most important part of your social media strategy(see I've even bolded AND italicised that sentence).

6. Start building a list. Personal contacts and one-to-one connections with your clients and customers is vital. Don't ever forget that social media channels are just rented space.

7. Continue to concentrate on other forms of marketing. You should never put all your eggs in one basket.

8. Consider asking your followers to tap 'see first' in their notifications if they want to hear from you BUT this is about to hit everyone's feed so please please don't keep sharing that spammy 'see first' post again. Find a more subtle way to do it. It's important and you don't want to get skipped over in the flurry of posting (remember when Insty changed its algorithm?!).

9. On a personal note, leave groups that you don't participate in so they don't clog up your feed.

10. It might be time to look at the quality of the visual content you are producing. Consider investing in a professional to help you if this is not your forte or consider upscaling yourself or a team member to do this for you.

I’m here to help you if you need me. I’m not some overnight social media guru and I’m not a 'teenager with good computer skills'. I’ve got over 20 years experience, a BA Comms degree and a Master of Marketing. I also spent my career understanding consumer behaviour and high-value purchasing behaviour. You can see what other people are saying about me here.